20 Twitter tips and good habits worth thinking about

The customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular professionor group.

In business, as in life, good manners and a polite nature go a long way.

However, do you apply such graces to your approach to social media, especially Twitter?

As the name suggests, ‘social media’ is just that…it’s social. It is about building a following, attracting loyalty and interest in you, your business or your brand. In ‘real’ life people would soon lose interest in you if you were rude or abrupt, or indeed you may not attract many ‘likers’ if you were generally very self-centred or egocentric. Ergo, if you want to be successful with your approach to social media you need to mind your manners!

Here at Lime Tree Communications we are handling social media accounts more and more for our clients, and there are some general tips that might be of assistance to you if you are planning your social media campaign, or about to embark on a Twitter journey.

These aren’t actual rules, but you if you want to be a good twitizen then it’s good to adopt some good old fashioned etiquette.

20 Twitter tips and good habits worth thinking about:

1. Be interesting! Quite a difficult one that as it is subjective. But, as a rule, good content will appeal to your audience or attract relevant followers.

3. Say ‘thank you’. Everyone likes to be appreciated, and Twitter is the same. Thank people if they RT (re-tweet or share) your tweets.

4. Say hello. It is quite nice to welcome new followers with a personal message (DM = direct message) or a tweet to acknowledge them. There are mixed views about automated responses, and I have to say they’re not for me.

5. Quality not quantity. Don’t madly follow everyone just to try to build your own following. Spend time looking for people who share your interests, or post tweets that are pertinent to you or your business. This could be about sector or geographical location.

6. Don’t push! Nobody likes people to push a product or opinion in our faces, and Twitter is just the same. There is no harm in directing people to an offer or promotion, but not all the time. It should be a blend of communication and different messages, like every good conversation.

7. Don’t be rude or offensive. Sounds a bit obvious, but people sometimes seem to forget they are engaging in communication because it is not face to face. You can share an opinion, but not in a nasty or aggressive fashion.

8. Be a good listener. You will soon find people to follow who have something interesting to say. Listen to what they have to say and if you like it, share it.

9. Don’t plagiarise. There are some very interesting and witty tweets that you may wish you’d thought of first. You can copy and forward (re-tweet) them – but you should always give accreditation to the original source.

10. Talk about other people as much (if not more) than you do about yourself.

11. Be social. Twitter is about conversations – it is not intended to be your platform for a monologue.

12. Tweet in moderation. My personal opinion is that 10 tweets a day are more than enough. No-one wants to be bombarded. Don’t send them all at once either. It can become irritating.

13. It’s not discourteous not to like everyone. As a general rule it is nice to follow back on Twitter, but as it now has millions of users, you are not obliged to follow everyone who follows you. Don’t disregard them however without checking out their profile first.

14. Similarly, don’t be offended if people don’t follow you back. It’s not a popularity contest.

15. Watch your alcohol intake. Might sound flippant, but you could say something you regret if you tweet whilst under the influence – and it IS in the public domain.

16. Identify and introduce yourself. Your ‘twitter handle’ (name you use) should reflect who you are or what you do where possible. Don’t forget to add an avatar (picture or logo) and add a profile.

17. DON’T SHOUT. As with many forms of social media (i.e. texting) capital letters represent shouting. Use sparingly.

18. A bit like point 17 – don’t be too noisy. ‘Noise’ on twitter means volume (as in number not sound). Post frequently, but it really is NOT very interesting to tell people you’re having lunch – unless you have a photo of something delicious or the venue is amazing. Even then, think ‘who cares?’

19. Be personal (within reason). Like any social interaction people gravitate to those who have something compelling or funny to say. You should always remember that it is fellow human beings you are sharing with. Imagine they are in the same room.

20. Enjoy twitter. I can be very time consuming, even addictive. Make sure you give the best and get the best out of it so that you are not wasting your time… or theirs!

We hope you find these hints and tips helpful. Don’t forget if you’d like us to handle your social media accounts on your behalf – then we’d be more than happy to do so.